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Ben Gibson: NASCAR rules encourages more dangerous driving. Are you not entertained?

From the Current-Argus

Posted:
10/13/2012 09:13:16 PM MDT

In sports, as well as many other walks of life, we are told safety comes first. That's why players wear helmets and pads and why NASCAR has its drivers wear the HANS device, a piece of equipment that gives the driver's head and neck support, hence the name.

While it is noble when players in any sport wish to play through pain, there comes a time when that choice probably shouldn't be left up to them.

That's why, for what seems like for the first time ever, there will not be an Earnhardt in the starting grid this week.

Since sometime in the 1950s, starting with Ralph Earnhardt, then his son Dale Earnhardt, and now with Dale Earnhardt Jr., the name Earnhardt has been associated with the sport  but after Jr. went to a doctor after his second concussion in a short period of time because of headaches he was having, he was banned from driving for at least two weeks.

While it is good to see safety and health was put first after Earnhardt Jr. realized he was having a problem, the same can't be said for NASCAR or almost any sport.

Talladega is a restrictor plate race, and without boring you with details, that means NASCAR places a piece of equipment in the car that limits horsepower.

So instead of the cars spreading out as some cars use that top end horsepower to get away from the field and race cleanly, you end up with 43 cars racing relatively close together, and the problem gets exacerbated in the races final laps.

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I watched as the field went four wide and about five rows deep, placing 20 cars going 200 mph in a space roughly the size of a basketball court.

You don't have to be an expert to know that chaos like that can only remain stable for so long.

And it didn't.

Earnhardt Jr., and 24 other drivers were caught in wreck on the last lap, exactly what NASCAR wanted.

Exciting? Yes. Safe? No.

The wreck was mostly injury free for a 25 car accident, but Earnhardt Jr. concussion came from that.

The fans, including myself, were entertained, but it makes it a little harder to enjoy when you have to think about the long term issues a concussion might cause.

While these sports are relatively safe they are close to gladiators we can get in the modern day. Death may not be an outcome, but these sports can easily be described as violent.We watched the sports and take in the violence and keep track of big hits and wrecks just as we do the score.

It reminds me of the scene in the movie Gladiator where Russel Crowe's Maximus finishing slaying his opponent and throws his sword in the crowd before asking, "Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?"

NASCAR isn't the only sport where safety is sometimes ignored when we can ignore it and be entertained by violence.

On the football field we watch and cheer for hits the rock players bodies. We may hate to see them actually get injured, but we do enjoy them leveling each other.

Yes, the organizations that run these sports do take certain measures to try to limit injuries and blows to the head.

In hockey the NHL has worked to pass more rules and safety precautions to limit checks that can lead to head injuries. But they still can throw down their gloves and begin punching each other in the face.

The NFL passes rules and gives out fines and suspensions to limit head injuries, and for good reason, but they expect players to make split second decisions at full speed.

They expect a player on the gridiron to show some restraint while the league office doesn't mind scheduling four games in 18 days as they did with the Baltimore Ravens this year.

When the league was negotiating during the lockout last year, there was an idea to add two more games to the regular season.

When we hear doctors and researchers describing football a series a car crashes, is seems irresponsible for the league to put players through that much punishment in such a short period of time. NASCAR has the cars set up so the field is closer and encourages more exciting, but more dangerous driving.

While it easy to point fingers and blame these organizations for being greedy and making money anyway they can, you have to wonder if they are just listening to the fans.

Websites like hockeyfights.com cater to fans wants. There are plenty of videos uploaded on YouTube highlighting these massive, possibly concussive hits.

Are they just giving us what we want? More football, more crashes, and more hits.

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